A 1/2 day for my husband, a craigslist find in Princeton and an hour car ride later we found ourselves in South Jersey walking the campus and admiring the architecture of one of the countries oldest universities, Princeton.

Ivy, ivy, ivy! It's not called Ivy Leauge for nothing. Ivy creeps and crawls everywhere throughout the campus. It is trimmed and taken care of properly to show how gorgeous it can be on brick buildings. Graduating Princeton seniors started the custom of planting ivy at the
university building, Nassau Hall, in 1866 as seen above. It became part of
each graduating class’s tradition and they also placed a plaque on the
wall with the date of their graduation.

My girls had a great time exploring all the different "castles". Good thing the campus was pretty empty as we were pretty loud everywhere we went.

ivy hill

snack time:

I am so glad we made this little day trip. Princeton is a breathtakingly old and intriguing campus. Moreno girls, class of 2028, 2030 and 2032.

We took an afternoon as a family in the city and walked the High Line! I have been wanting to do it for ages and I don't know why it took so long to go. It was gorgeous, very windy, but oh so worth it. The High Line is a modern park made from the old, elevated New York Central Railroad on the lower west side of Manhattan.

Peekaboo empire state building:

The old rail lines have been repurposed into an ever growing luscious flowering wonderland in the bustle of the city. Recycling at its best. I love how they kept some of the rail lines intact though and planted in and amongst them.

It's neat to walk elevated through all of the buildings while still in a park that is a mile and a half long.

If you are planning a trip to NYC anytime soon, I highly recommend walking the High Line! It was great to walk with kids too. My girls loved looking at the flowers, climbing on the benches and just plain old people watching. We can't wait to go back!

ps- if you are planning on going with kids, check out this book, The Curious Garden by Peter Brown and read it before you go. It is a children's book inspired by the High Line and now one of our favorites.

I love all things green. Succulent leaves, interesting textures, soft moss. I am a professional floral designer who has created a way to work artistically and still be home with my little girls. Fresh from the garden state, flores del sol.

.

.

Flower aficionado Christina Moreno is part horticulture expert, part floral designer. Her extensive knowledge of the botanical world is evident, from musings on her own botanical finds, to interesting and timely tidbits like the history of the royal wedding bouquet. Drawing on her love of all things vintage, Moreno also creates surprisingly modern arrangements made of dried flowers and moss in her Etsy shop.-elle decor.com